Too often, Hartford's Bushnell Park has been chipped and snipped by road expansions, parking and flood-control projects. The iQuilt plan expands the green heart of downtown Hartford for the first time in 150 years.

That is one of the reasons the city's planning and zoning commission made the right call when it voted Tuesday to approve straightening Gold Street by swinging it to the south, enabling a key piece of the iQuilt plan to move ahead.

The iQuilt is an imaginatively simple idea to connect downtown's cultural and entertainment attractions along a pedestrian promenade from the riverfront to Bushnell Park. Gold Street, a block-long S-curved street between Main Street and the park, is part of the route. The plan has been to straighten the street in the southern part of the corridor, aligning it with the Hoadley Gate entrance to the park, and fill in the rest of it with "Bushnell Gardens," an extension of the park that may include gardens, a bike station, a cafe and other amenities.

The promenade will continue down Atheneum Square to Constitution Plaza and the riverfront.

The Bushnell Gardens idea has been well received in general but vehemently opposed by some residents of Bushnell Tower, the high-rise condominium building on the south side of Gold Street. The opponents argue that the straightening would bring the road too close to the condominiums, adding noise and potentially hurting property values.

Although their concern is sincerely felt, there is reason to think the opposite — that the iQuilt will enhance property values. Most people moving to downtowns like to walk. Post-World War II development in downtown left many areas unhospitable to pedestrians. Many of the folks who do walk in downtown Hartford head for Bushnell Park. Expand the park and connect to museums, theaters and other venues, and you expand the pleasant pedestrian environment.

At a time when much new downtown housing is coming online, walkable is good. It is hard to imagine that property values in the elegant Bushnell Tower will suffer with an active pedestrian parkway next door.

Gold Street was once straight; the curved design was introduced in the 1970s, giving the condominium complex a suburban, auto-centric feel. But this is a city. High-rise buildings adjoin streets in cities, and make cities vibrant. There are many elements that make a city walkable, starting with people who want to walk, but good urban design helps. Give the iQuilt a chance, and see what happens.